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| Image Credit: Andonious "Smo-G/A3V" Vassiliadis |
In today's world, a noticeable trend has emerged within certain members of the Hindu community. Many images of deities are increasingly being painted in darker complexions. This practice is often explained as an act of equality and a gesture of standing against racism, since darker skin tones have historically been associated with social hierarchies and prejudice.
While the intention behind this trend is admirable, the practice itself raises important questions. Are Hindu deities truly meant to be imagined in a single skin tone, regardless of scripture? Or is there a deeper reason why they have been traditionally described and visualized in a wide spectrum of colours?
The truth is that the colours of Hindu deities are not chosen arbitrarily, nor are they reflections of racial identity. Instead, each deity is described in scriptural verses known as dhyāna ślokas, which prescribe their form, complexion, posture, and attributes for meditation. These descriptions serve a very specific spiritual purpose.
They are designed to act as symbolic anchors for the mind, enabling the practitioner to meditate on the qualities and powers embodied by that deity. To paint every deity in the same complexion in the name of social equality may unintentionally overlook the profound metaphysical wisdom that these colours represent.
When covered with milk, sandalwood paste, turmeric, or vibhuti (sacred ash), these mūrtis would not even appear black but would take on the colours of the substances used in worship. This shows that the stone’s natural colour was not meant to define the deity’s complexion, but rather to provide a suitable medium for ritual.
Towards a Balanced Understanding
Colours as Spiritual Language
In the Hindu tradition, colour is a sacred language. Each shade embodies a quality, a mood, and an energy that helps the devotee establish a connection with the divine. The dhyāna ślokas, which appear in various scriptures, are essentially poetic visualizations that guide the imagination during meditation. By holding the prescribed image in the mind, the practitioner is able to internalize the attributes of the deity and move closer to spiritual realization.
For example, in the Lalitā Sahasranāma and its associated texts, Goddess Lalita Tripurasundarī is envisioned as having a complexion the colour of vemilion and glowing with golden radiance. This description is not symbolic of race but of energy. Her reddish hue reflects her fiery creative force, her embodiment of passion transformed into divine bliss, and her role as the supreme source of cosmic creation. A devotee meditating on her form is not simply imagining a goddess of a particular skin tone but is invoking the energy of divine creativity.
sindūrāruṇavigrahāṁ trinayanāṁ māṇikyamaulisphurat
tārānāyakaśēkharāṁ smitamukhīmāpīnavakṣōruhām .
pāṇibhyāmalipūrṇaratnacaṣakaṁ raktōtpalaṁ vibhratīṁ
saumyāṁ ratnaghaṭastharaktacaraṇāṁ dhyāyētparāmambikām
By contrast, Goddess Mātangī, one of the Mahāvidyās, is described as having the deep green complexion of an emerald. She is the patroness of inner wisdom, music, and unconventional knowledge. Her green form symbolizes the fertile abundance of nature as well as the hidden mysteries that flourish outside the boundaries of conventional order. Meditating on her prescribed colour is meant to awaken inner wisdom and unconventional insight.
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| Goddess Matangi also known as Syamala. Image Credit: matangidevi |
Lord Muruga, also known as Kartikeya or Subramanya, is often described with a radiant red complexion. His hue represents youthful vigour, courage, and martial energy. His prescribed colour becomes a focus point in meditation, allowing devotees to internalize bravery, vitality, and divine protection.
Thus, when scriptures prescribe a colour, they are giving practitioners a map for meditation. Each colour corresponds not to race, but to rasa, the essence of the deity’s spiritual power.
The Buddhist Parallel
This symbolism is not confined to Hinduism alone. In Buddhist traditions, especially within Vajrayana practices, deities and bodhisattvas are also painted in specific colours. Each colour embodies a quality of enlightenment and serves as a meditative focus for practitioners.
For instance, Amitābha Buddha is red, symbolizing compassion and the fire of transformation. Akṣobhya Buddha is blue, representing immovable stability and clarity of mind. Ratnasambhava is yellow, symbolizing generosity and abundance. Vairocana is white, representing purity and the all-encompassing nature of the dharmakāya. Amoghasiddhi is green, signifying accomplishment and fearlessness.
Just as in Hinduism, these colours are not racial features but meditative codes. They serve as precise instructions for practitioners to focus their minds and embody the qualities of the enlightened state.
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| The 5 meditational Buddhas in different colours. Image Credit: tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia |
Why Colours Matter in Meditation
When a devotee sits for meditation, the human mind needs a form to concentrate upon. Without a form, the mind wanders. The dhyāna śloka provides that form, complete with colour, ornaments, posture, and symbolic weapons. By following this prescription, the practitioner engages all senses and channels them towards spiritual realization.
The colour of the deity plays a crucial role in this process. Red ignites energy and passion, green induces harmony and growth, blue represents vastness and depth, and white evokes purity and clarity. If all deities were painted in the same skin tone, these meditative distinctions would collapse, and the practitioner would lose an important tool for inner transformation.
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| Colours also corresponds to our chakras. Image credit: mindvalley |
The Question of Black Stone Mūrtis
A common counterpoint that may arise is that most South Indian temples house deities carved from black granite or other materials. Does this not mean that the deities were always meant to be imagined as dark-skinned? What about statues made from brass? Does that mean the deities are also brown?
The answer lies in understanding the distinction between temple ritual practice and scriptural meditation practice.
The mūrtis in temples were never intended to be the primary tools of meditation. Their primary purpose was to serve as living embodiments of the deity for abhiṣegam (ritual bathing), ceremonial worship, and festivals. Granite and other materials such as brass were chosen because of their durability, their ability to withstand constant ritual bathing with milk, water, ghee, turmeric, and sandalwood paste, and their natural sanctity as materials considered fit for consecration.
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| Image credit: IBC Bakthi |
When covered with milk, sandalwood paste, turmeric, or vibhuti (sacred ash), these mūrtis would not even appear black but would take on the colours of the substances used in worship. This shows that the stone’s natural colour was not meant to define the deity’s complexion, but rather to provide a suitable medium for ritual.
The dhyāna śloka descriptions, on the other hand, belong to a different sphere altogether. They prescribe the form, colour, and attributes of the deity specifically for meditation. While the murti anchors the ritual, the meditative visualization anchors the mind. Both are valid, but they serve distinct purposes. Confusing the two can lead to misunderstandings about why a deity is described in a certain complexion in scripture.
The Misunderstanding of Equality
In the modern Hindu context, the trend of painting all deities with dark complexions is motivated by a noble sentiment. It seeks to challenge colourism and the social prejudice that often accompanies lighter or darker skin in human society. However, when this sentiment is extended into the sphere of religious iconography, it risks overshadowing the deeper scriptural intent.
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| Image credit: tiethethali |
Equality in Hindu thought does not mean uniformity. Instead, it means seeing the divine in all forms and understanding that all qualities, whether fiery red or tranquil green, belong to the same cosmic reality. By preserving the distinct colours of each deity, we do not promote inequality. Rather, we affirm the diversity of divine expression and allow each form to speak its unique spiritual language.
Preserving Scriptural Integrity
To understand why the preservation of prescribed colours is important, one must return to the scriptures themselves. The dhyāna ślokas are not artistic preferences but meditative instructions. They have been recited, preserved, and transmitted for centuries because they carry precise spiritual significance. Changing them arbitrarily in the name of social messaging diminishes their potency.
If a devotee wishes to meditate on Lalita Tripurasundarī, they are instructed to imagine her as red, glowing like the sun. If they imagine her in another form, the results of the meditation may not align with the intended energy described in the scriptures.
Similarly, imagining Matangi as emerald-green is an invitation to embrace unconventional wisdom, while focusing on Muruga’s radiant red form awakens courage and energy. These colours are not matters of choice but matters of spiritual precision.
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| Muniswarans of Pachaiamman temple, Tiruvannamalai. They are represented in different colours. |
It is important to clarify that acknowledging the symbolic colours of deities does not invalidate the movement against racism. The fight against social prejudice is essential, and celebrating darker skin tones in human society is an important step toward equality. However, the mistake lies in confusing human social realities with divine symbolism.
Deities are not meant to be representations of human race. They are embodiments of cosmic qualities, and their colours are metaphors for energies far beyond the human realm.
Instead of reducing every deity to a single complexion, a better approach would be to educate devotees about the symbolic significance of colours.
By doing so, we can celebrate diversity both in human identity and in divine representation. In fact, when devotees learn why Lalita is vermilion-red, why Matangi is green, and why Muruga is red, they come to appreciate the immense depth of the tradition.
The trend of painting all Hindu deities in darker skin tones may stem from a well-intentioned desire to fight racism, but it risks obscuring the profound spiritual symbolism of colour in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Each deity is described in scripture with a specific complexion, not as an indication of race, but as a key to meditation.
Colours in this context are not social markers but spiritual codes. They are the language through which the infinite communicates with the human mind.
To honour this wisdom, it is important to preserve the scriptural descriptions of deities and to understand their significance.
True equality is not about making everything look the same, but about recognizing the divinity in all forms and colours. In the realm of the sacred, colour is not a boundary but a bridge, guiding the practitioner from the outer form to the inner essence, from meditation to realization.
